Born of Water and Fire
by WonderlandSindrome
Summary: With a Firebending mother and a Waterbending father, Mei was a miracle child with bending powers of her own. But when a secret comes out, she is forced from her home and thrust into the world of the Avatar.


This, is my first real fanfic. I've tried them before, but this one really hit me and I need to write it out. I have the entire story already planned. It'll start with mostly OCs, but other characters will come into play. Heavily.

Keep a look out for the Gaang, as well as other loved characters from the series. Some of the story will be cannon, some will be what I wish had happened, some will be completely new. So sit back, and enjoy the ride.

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I was an abomination. Blasphemy incarnate, my village elders said. Though, it didn't start that way.

When I was born, they called me a miracle. With a Firebender mother and a Waterbender father, as their child I was not expected to have bending powers. But from nearly the day I was born, I could call the water to do my bidding. Oh, my father was so pleased. We would stay up late under La's light practicing forms and technique.

The first decade of my life was wonderful. I had parents who loved me, a fire noble grandmother who showered me with gifts, and a village who adored me: A bending child born of enemy elements. But then it changed. No, then I changed. And the world grew cold. They feared me, called the spirits to strike me.

So, at the age of 11, I left. No one stopped me that day, not that I expected them to. I packed up my belongings, strung them to Izra's sides, and away we went.

I suppose Izra was the only good thing that came out of being born of Firebending blood. The giant eater-wolf cub had been for my third birthday; a gift from my grandmother. As he had grown larger, we became closer. He was the only one now who didn't judge me, who loved me unconditionally. And now, he would be my only companion.

o00)o(00o

Our travels began almost as a game. It was genuinely fun traversing the open world. No one stared at me, or threw things at me, or yelled at me to vanish. Izra and I were perfectly comfortable sleeping under the stars and walking aimlessly all day.

After a time, we fell into a schedule.

I had always been odd for a Waterbender. While I stayed up well after the moon rose, practicing under her glow, I hardly ever slept past the sun's arrival.

In the brisk morning light, I would wake and meditate. Once the sun was up, Izra and I would set about preparing breakfast. The afternoon consisted of a light lunch, heavy travel, napping, and some hand-to-hand combat sparring with my eater-wolf companion. At night, once the moon's glow began to touch the earth, I would practice long and hard. I had brought with me a few scrolls to study and learn from, as I no longer had a teacher to show me proper stance and technique.

We lived like this for a few months, stopping every now and again to rest at camp, or hunt for food. But we always made sure to steer clear of other people; I'd had my share of nasty humans for a lifetime.

Then, we began to run out of supplies. Garments had been washed away in rain, utensils left behind and forgotten, hunting supplies used up. We were barely making it day by day. Almost six months into our adventure, I was becoming desperate. Desperate enough, in fact, to risk visiting a village.

In order to avoid confrontation, I left Izra at our camp in the woods. The village was just a small Earth Kingdom place; quaint and poor.

In my head, I listed the items I needed: clothing, leather to fix Izra's saddle, twine for traps… I trailed off my counting as a man approached me.

The man's innate attention alarmed me, possibly more than his garb of red and metal.

"What brings you to town?" he drawled, leaning on his sharpened spear.

"I am just a traveler. I'm looking for supplies," my reply was curt.

"Well you won't find anything here of interest," a smirk crossed his sharp features. "Unless, of course, you're looking for a good time." He took a step closer to me.

"N-no, thank you. As I said, I'm only interested in supplies."

I tried to dart around him, hoping to catch him off guard, but he snatched at my arm and held me in place.

"No, I think you should join us for some lunch," he laughed and began dragging me toward a group of his fellow soldiers.

I looked around in panic. Villagers were all around us, some staring, others turned deliberately away. Then it struck me. This was an occupied town. I had heard rumors of a war, but could the Fire Nation really be this in control?

I dug my heels in the ground, attempting to slow the soldier. Turning, I called out to the cowed people.

"Help me! Please!" I begged them.

The soldier merely laughed. "No one cares sweetheart, now just shut up and come with me."

I was determined to not use my bending. It could only make things worse for me in the end.

Suddenly, a long dart struck the soldier in the back of the neck, under his helmet.

"What the—"reaching up to his neck, he groaned and slumped to the ground. The other soldiers rushed toward me, hearing their companion's cry.

I spun quickly, trying to locate my new adversary, to no avail. The other soldiers were shouting to each other, trying to assess the situation. Two men grabbed me, pinning my arms to my sides with binds. More darts appeared, knocking down a few of the group.

A kid not much older than I, swung down from a rooftop. They were clad in black garbs, completely covered head to foot. Only their hands and eyes were open to the world. They spun quickly, in the midst of the soldiers, two shinning objects lashing out.

I dropped, legs shooting toward one of my guards and knocking him down. With my hands bound, I had no use of my bending powers, but as the second soldier rushed at me, my supposed savior darted in, a blade digging into our attacker's throat in a second.

When the soldiers all lay broken and beaten, the kid stood in the center of the road panting, their back facing me. I glanced around, a bit winded myself, at the villagers who began creeping from houses they had hid in to avoid the fight. My savior turned to me, assessing me, then swiftly approached. Before I could blink, they had swept me into their arms. I yelped in protest, struggling to free myself.

They scoffed slightly, strong arms tightening around my form. Then, we were off. How they managed to run so swiftly with my extra weight was beyond me. Within moments we had reached my makeshift camp.

The kid dropped me unceremoniously as Izra bounded over. I was surprised when my companion didn't even glance at the intruder, and merely set to happily licking me a welcome.

A laugh sounded from the layers of cloth, and they swiftly removed my bonds.

"Alright," I started angrily, rising to a defensive stance. "Who the heck are you and what on earth just happened."

Their head titled a bit before they reached up to unfold heavy head wrappings. When their hands reached their neck, I gasped.

There had been other kids my age in my village, but I'd be smote by La if I had ever seen a boy so gorgeous. His features were perfect and symmetrical, appearing of noble blood. Shaggy brown hair hung messily from the black coverings.

He laughed again as my jaw literally dropped.

I coughed in an attempt to compose myself.

"As I said, who. Are. You." I glared at the boy, arms crossing in protest.

"Just a traveler, like yourself," he bowed suddenly, taking me by surprise.

"A name, stranger," I growled, shifting into bending position.

A small smile lit across his mouth. "Not just yet. Soon, though, I'll tell you."

"Well then where did you come from? How did you know I was trouble? What is going on?" I rattled questions at him so quickly that he threw up his hands against my onslaught.

"Relax, you're safe now. I'll explain, but first I'm hungry. What have you got to eat?"

I stared at him aghast as he rummaged through my belongings looking for food.

Storming over to him, I grabbed his arm to swing him around.

"Who do you think you are?" I yelled at him.

"I think," he smirked. "That I'm the guy who just saved your life, and virtue."

The reality of his statement hit me hard and I dropped his arm. I thought about the soldier, and what he was planning on doing with me. I swayed a bit, remembering.

"Whoa, there," he cried, startled. He grabbed my shoulders quickly and steered me to a rock to sit on.

"Are you OK?" he peered at my face, worry etched into his features. I looked up at him, noticing for the first time the intense green of his eyes.

"You're from the Earth Kingdom."

His brows creased as he contemplated my random thought. "Yes," he replied slowly. "We are actually _in_ the Earth Kingdom, you know."

"Are you an Earthbender?" I ignored his cautious tone.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. Only time will tell," he backed away, wiggling his fingers mysteriously. I couldn't help but laugh at his sudden antics.

"There now!" he exclaimed. "I knew you could laugh. Now, about that food." Content that he had sufficiently distracted me, he set upon my bag once again.

"There's nothing in there," I moped aloud. "We ran out of food two days ago." My stomach rumbled in agreement.

He sat back on his heels, dropping my bag and pouting. Suddenly, he clapped his hands together and swiftly rose to his feet, face alight with enthusiasm. He was amazingly moody.

"Then we shall have to go fishing," he exclaimed, and bounced off toward the nearby lake, dropping pieces of clothing as he went.

I stared after him, completely at a loss.

"Does that mean you're staying?" I called after him.

The only answer was loud, barking laughter.

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So that's it so far. No, you don't know much about any of the characters, except maybe Izra. Who, by the way, is a Giant Anteater-Wolf. 'Eater-wolf' is just so much easier to say and write. And even in the Avatar world, they shorten names. Like the kangaroo-rabbit was called a kangarabbit. Etc. I'm actually working on drawing him. He's a pretty cool beast, and a huge part to this story. You'll like him. He looks nasty though haha.

As for why the main character is in her current position, you'll find out later. Maybe much later. When you're hated for something, you don't really bring it up much. But she'll be forced to, don't worry.

Mysterious!Boy will make absolutely no sense. Don't try to figure him out yet. It'll just give you a headache.

I'm sorry this chapter was at such a loss for detail. I promise you'll learn a lot more later, like appearances, names, places, etc. I'm still getting the hang of the whole, fanfic thing. I'm used to creating everything myself.

Review! It'll make me write quicker.


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